Francesco Bagnaia has lost his signature strength on the Ducati bike, says Valentino Rossi. Bagnaia enters 2026 on the back of a difficult MotoGP season.
The two-time Premier Division champions have entered the tail end of the last year which has left everyone in the team confused. Bagnaia says there are ‘too many voices’ at Ducati. He clouded his thinking by raising theories.
He has dropped more than 250 points behind Marc Marquez to fifth in the championship despite his team-mate missing the last four races through injury. In addition to Grassini’s Alex Marquez, Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi and KTM’s Pedro Acosta, he was hit with a DNF (nine) along with a Grand Prix podium (eight).
Did Francesco Bagnaia receive unfair criticism last season?
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Valentino Rossi broke Francesco Bagna’s woes at Ducati.
Rossi Bagnaia chats with his fellow MotoGP Hall of Famers in a video posted. The official YouTube channel of the championship. It is worth noting that the discussion took place last fall.
Still, Rossi’s perspective is valuable as he acts as a mentor to Bagnaya, a graduate of the VR46 Academy.
Last year in Rossi wanted to meet Bagnaia’s crew chief. Trying to figure out why the form holds the nose.
Finally, he put the sudden downshift into corner entry and excessive tire wear into a ‘problem’. Previously, Bagnaya In these areas it was stronger than many of its rivals.
“Peco is a bit off, unfortunately,” Rossi said. “Braking and cornering, which was very strong last season, now has some problems.
“When Marquez gets in the box and goes fast, I think it’s not easy psychologically.
“He’s a very precise rider. You know what the biggest problem is? The rear tire drops a lot.
“Peco is slow in the last laps, and last season he was very strong in the last laps. Last season, Peco was the rider with the best tire in the last lap, and in the last laps he was faster than the others.
Is Peco Bagnaia’s MotoGP titles handed to him by Ducati?
Having surpassed Bagnayan last season, Acosta is ready to take his. Ducati Seat for 2027. Luigi Daligna made a ruthless call on the team’s most successful rider.
Bagnaia is heading to Aprilia.Where it shares a garage with another VR46 production in Marco Bezecici.
Livio Suppo, a decorated former MotoGP team boss, says. Bagnaya needs to make sure he gets the titles.Instead of relying on the superiority of Ducati bikes.
This shows how much the Italian reputation has suffered in the last 12 months. The 2026 season started poorly in Thailand with P9, but Ducati struggled across the board in terms of relegation.
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